ASTM D6081 Standard Practice for Aquatic Toxicity Testing of Lubricants
ASTM D6081 Standard Practice for Aquatic Toxicity Testing of Lubricants: Sample Preparation and Results Interpretation
4. Summary of Practice
4.1 This practice discusses various techniques for the preparation of test material for toxicity testing of poorly water-soluble lubricants or their components under acute or chronic exposure conditions with fish, large invertebrates, or algae.
5. Significance and Use
5.1 This practice gives techniques to use in the preparation of lubricants or lubricant components for acute or chronic aquatic toxicity tests. Most lubricants and lubricant components are difficult to evaluate in toxicity tests because they are mixtures of chemical compounds with varying and usually poor solubility in water. Lubricants or lubricant component mixtures should not be added directly to aquatic systems for toxicity testing because the details of the addition procedure will have a large effect on the results of the toxicity test. Use of the techniques described in this practice will produce well characterized test systems which will lead to tests with meaningful and reproducible results.
5.2 The toxicity of mixtures of poorly soluble components cannot be expressed in the usual terms of lethal concentration (or the similar terms of effect concentration or inhibition concentration) because the mixtures may not be completely soluble at treat levels which lead to toxic effects. The test material preparation techniques given in this practice lead to test results expressed in terms of loading rate, which is a practical and meaningful concept for expressing the toxicity of this type of material.
5.3 One of the recommended methods of material preparation for lubricants or their components is the mechanical dispersion technique. This particular technique generates turbulence, and thus, it should not be used for poorly-swimming organisms.
